King: Oaklawn Park pick three for Saturday, March 18

Singling the Oaklawn-loving Terra Promessa in the Azeri Stakes, here is a small pick-three play at Oaklawn on Saturday.

Race 6, Allowance

This one-mile allowance for 3-year-olds has two horses who stand out in my mind: Jerrid (2) and Greeley and Ben (4). The former has twice run well in routes at this meet in allowances that were seemingly stronger than this one and possesses speed, while the latter impressed in a couple of runs last fall in Kentucky. Greeley and Ben strikes me as the most talented horse, but not having raced since November puts him at a disadvantage that has me slightly preferring Jerrid.

Race 7, Azeri

Terra Promessa (2) has dominated similar opposition in two starts at this meet, improving her local record to 5 for 5. And she largely faces the same crew aside from Gulfstream raider Eskenformoney, who is inconsistent and wins infrequently for a stakes horse (4 for 21).

Race 8, Essex

Mor Spirit (2) is the class, is in the third start of his form cycle, and is the most likely winner. But he doesn’t stand out on speed figures, leaving me to throw a few others into the pick-three mix in hopes of catching a price. Those horses, in order of preference, are Domain's Rap (7), Shotgun Kowboy (1), and Madefromlucky (8).

The tickets

Playing the horses outlined above in numerical order, a 50-cent pick three of 2,4 with 2 with 1,2,7,8 costs just $4.